Forgotten Memories
by Sailor Elf
Summary: When three ducks from Puckworld arrive on Earth, the Ducks have to be careful for the danger hits closer to home than what they first think.
1. An Idea and a Story

Disclaimer - Don't own the Ducks. Never will. The story Sanyo tells is based on the story Clopin tells in Disney version of _The Hunchback of Notre Dame._ Though Patrick, Rene, Sanyo (along with all respective aliases) and Digit San (It's the name of a building) are mine.

Summary - When three ducks from Puckworld arrive on Earth, the Ducks have to be careful for the danger hits closer to home than what they first think.

00000

Forgotten Memories

Earth

Dragaunus impatiently sat in his chair as Siege, Wraith and Chameleon stood beside the doorway. It had been two weeks since the Mighty Ducks had destroyed his gateway generator and he was still quite upset about it.

"Siege!" he cried.

"Yes, Dragaunus?" Siege asked, cautiously walking in the room.

"Is the gateway generator at all close to being fixed?" he replied.

"No, it is not at all close to being fixed Lord Dragaunus. We would need better technology than what we have. This planet is so primitive compared to Puckworld's technology or even our own. Not unless we already knew someone who had one," replied Siege.

Dragaunus began to think about the statement, which stirred up some old memories.

"There's no one left out of our major allies from Puckworld. Lucretia's in dimensional limbo. Falcone's in prison here. Who else was there?" Dragaunus asked himself quietly.

The red Saurian stood up and started to pace back and forth before finally looking at the three, who cowered slightly. He grinned evilly as he started to laugh quietly to himself.

"I should have thought of that sooner. Why didn't I? I completely forgot about those two," he asked himself.

He turned and glared at his three minions, a knowing smile on his face. He was quietly laughing as he stepped towards them.

"Prepare yourselves my friends for I expect to have visitors here very soon from Puckworld," Dragaunus told them as he turned away from them.

"But how that possible Dragaunus? Our generator's not properly functioning. In fact, it's broken with no way to fix it! How could you bring anyone here?" Chameleon managed to spit out.

"No, ours isn't working though an old friend of ours has one that works that we can easily tap into. After all, I did managed to slip something to her that helps us do that. I thought that I might be able to use it someday," explained Dragaunus.

"Who could possibly have a working generator? It's not like you can get them everywhere you know," wondered Wraith.

"Rene does. How she got hers, I never will know but I plan to at least bring her here to help defeat those ducks. We can only hope that Patrick is with her if and when we manage to activate the generator. He can also help us. After all, they are the best team on Puckworld. When they aided us on Puckworld, we didn't have to worry about them much when we sent them out on missions. They always managed to get them completed," answered Dragaunus.

The three looked at each other. Wraith stepped forward, a question obviously on his mind.

"What if they don't want to help us Lord Dragaunus?" he wondered.

"They will help us. I'm sure of it. They never refused to do the missions we asked. In fact, I'm pretty sure they enjoyed doing them," Dragaunus replied. "Siege, is everything ready to bring them here?"

"Almost, my Lord," Siege told him. "What exactly is your plan?"

"My plan is to finally defeat those ducks with someone that they least expect. Rene and Patrick are the perfect choices when they are working together, which is what they always do anyway," replied the red Saurian. "Besides Duke, none of them would even know these two. I am certain of that."

The three looked at each other with confusion in their faces as Dragaunus began to laugh.

Puckworld

A figure clad in black climbed through the rafters in a building. She soon came across a duck standing in front of a small crowd of five. She quietly climbed down and stood within the group, the others barely taking any notice to her.

"A long time ago, a tragedy occurred that shocked many ducks around the planet. Little is known about this duck. While there are many ducks on this planet, it is sometimes difficult to find something on one solitary duck. Barely anything is written about him but there have been stories, rumours, from the night that pass to all walks of life," said Sanyo.

"There is?" asked a young duck of about seventeen. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

Rene was her name and her shoulder length black striped brown hair twirled about her face. She wore a black outfit, which covered her entire body, including her hands though it didn't cover her face.

"Of course there is. The stories tell of a duck somewhere out there, who is of different aspects. But who is he and where did he come from?" posed Sanyo.

"Who is it?" asked Rene but got shushed by Sanyo.

"Hush and I will tell you a tale of a mysterious duck. On a cold and dark night many years ago, four ducks were trying to escape from Thief au Combat, a hooded and cloaked figure covered in black who killed ducks in enormous magnitude. Out of the four ducks, two were thieves and two were not. Combat was the type who hated the fact that some thieves and ones who weren't were friends. The four were soon discovered just outside here, Digit San, which is a former jewel exchange," Sanyo told the crowd.

By then, Patrick, Rene's teacher, had arrived. He wore a blue cape, black pants and a dark green shirt. His black hair was just past his shoulders and it was tied back into a ponytail. He stood behind Rene, trying not to be noticed by the crowd. His stare skimmed over the crowd, who were now looking around at the interior of Digit San.

"'Bring them to me. I will take care of them now'. Thief au Combat had ordered," Sanyo told the crowd.

The crowd gasped at the name. They all heard of the name before but rarely the full thing. They all intently listened to story being told.

"But the female duck was hiding something. Thief au Combat wanted to get it from her once he noticed that she was, assuming it was stolen jewels. He gave chase. Another duck followed them, but was soon knocked down by Combat. He went after the female duck again and caught up with her, knocking her down and the baby flew out of her arms. The mother was dead. Someone who happened to be walking by took the baby into Digit San for protection against the murderer with positive results; therefore, Thief au Combat did not catch up with the young duck until she was four and she had contracted a terrible disease," said Sanyo.

The caretaker of Digit San had stopped Combat before he killed her.

"Do not go any further with this for I will track you for the rest of time if you do. Do not take this lightly for she is like my own and I know where to find you," he cried.

Thief au Combat suddenly became scared, despite all his power, anger and ruthlessness.

"What should I do then old one?" he finally asked the older duck.

"Raise her as if she were your own daughter," the caretaker replied.

Combat sighed, closing his eyes. He opened them up and stared at the duck before him.

"Alright, I will. Just as long as she stays with me in order to teach her the ways of my people, the thieves. Don't worry, she will be taken care of," Combat said and the caretaker nodded.

"And then Combat took the baby with him to the other side, teaching her his way of life. Just imagine that most of the event played around this area. For some strange reason, Combat had taken a liking to this building. I don't think we'll ever know why since he seemed to have disappeared into thin air. It is ironic that the spot he lost track of the child was the same place he caught up with her again," Sanyo concluded. "Any questions?"

The few ducks asked their questions before leaving though one young duck was quite fascinated by the story. He tugged on Rene's leg, looking at her with an interested look.

"What do you know about Combat? Whatwas he like?" asked the young duck.

"Leave the nice duck alone. She doesn't need a young duck like you bothering her. She's just doing her job," the mother duck told him. "Only the guide can tell you the few known things about Thief au Combat. She doesn't know anything about him."

Rene watched the two leave, a sad look on her face as she headed towards Sanyo.

"You'd be surprised how much I know about him. I know more about him than anyone else," she muttered to herself.

"Nothing's wrong, is there Rene? You've seemed out of sorts lately. Is there something on your mind?" Patrick wondered.

"I'm just about to ask about that Patrick," replied Rene. "Um, Sanyo, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Okay," replied Sanyo, watching the ducks left.

The three walked into a corner. She looked at him. He wore a black outfit. There were purple diamonds on the front and back of it. His shoulder-length hair was a fiery red and his feathers were yellow.

"How can I help you my dear Rene?" asked Sanyo. "Is there something wrong? What is it?"

Before she could answer him, her left arm began to glow and a vortex appeared before them.

"What the heck is going on here?" Patrick began to yell.

"Someone's tapped into my arm, that's what!" Rene cried out. "Be careful everyone!I don't know where we're going to end up!"

The three held onto something for their lives. They soon lost their grip and were sucked into the vortex. It disappeared almost immediately afterwards, leaving behind an empty room.

TBC...


	2. Insight From Duke

Earth

The Ducks were heading back to the Pond after an evening at the movies. They had all gone to separate ones and met with each other after they were over. The only one who wasn't there was Tanya, who stayed back at the Pond to work on a few things.

"That movie I saw was really cool," said Nosedive.

"The one I went to see was really good," agreed Mallory.

"Well, don't expect that to happen very often. We'd get swamped with fans, like what we were tonight. Not only that, we should be keeping an eye on Dragaunus' activities. We should know when he attacks again," Wildwing told them.

"Ah, come on Wildwing. First of all, the fans weren't that bad tonight and secondly, we destroyed Dragaunus' gateway generator almost two weeks ago. He's at the bottom of the ocean and I don't think he's going anywhere too fast because of the fact his engines are destroyed as well," Duke slowly explained.

Wildwing paused for a moment, unsure how to answer.

"We also don't have to worry about him bringing anyone else here from Puckworld. Not like Lucretia or Falcone," Nosdive put in, remembering the incidents with them. "Even though we can't get home."

"I've always wondered if they had any other allies from on Puckworld besides those two. If they did, if we could've met them before the gateway was destroyed," Mallory sighed.

"Why would you want to meet any others who betrayed us to Dragaunus?" Wildwing wondered.

"How we would have fared against them, that's why. I mean, Tanya knew Lucretia and Duke knew Falcone. Would any of us have known any other allies they had?" Mallory explained.

"I doubt it," Duke interrupted.

He soon had four sets of eyes on him. He could feel them burning into him but he wasn't worried about it one bit.

"You doubt what? Doubt that we would have known them or doubt that he had any others helping him?" Nosedive wondered.

"I know of two others who helped Dragaunus back on Puckworld but I doubt that the Saurian scum would have ever brought them here. The things we deal with here, aren't their type of work. They're a team, flat out. What could Dragaunus have ever possibly planned that deals with teamwork?" Duke replied with a slight laugh.

"Well, would we have known them?" Wildwing reluctantly asked.

"No, none of you would have known them, I'm sure. Falcone and I knew them through the Brotherhood. They were a bit reclusive, even by thief standards," Duke told them, glancing over at Mallory. "The chances of them showing up here are about as slim as us getting home again."

Suddenly, a bright light filled the night sky and the Ducks watched as three figures fell to the ground.

"What was that all about?" Mallory wondered.

"Don't know but let's check it out. Let's get moving Ducks!" cried Wildwing.

The Ducks drove to where the three fell to the ground.

00000

"That's right, we brought you here so you could help us fight those do-gooders called the Mighty Ducks," Chameleon told them. "They've been giving us problems since we got here."

"I'll help. Sounds like a challenge to me. What about you Rene?" said Patrick.

"Yeah, I'm in. There was nothing to do on Puckworld anyway. The routine was getting boring," she agreed.

Patrick gave her an angry look as Sanyo walked up to them, appearing a bit nervous of the whole situation.

"I hate to interrupt everybody, but I'd like to go home," he whined.

"Not yet we can't Sanyo. These are our friends and we have to help them in a time of need," Patrick told him.

"Well, what do we get to do first?" wondered Rene, sounding excited. "Even better, when?"

Sanyo and Patrick both stared at her with 'I don't believe you' looks.

"Hey, I'm a teenager. I need excitement. Being a thief is one thing but getting excitement is another. Like I said, the routine was getting boring. No offense Sanyo," she protested.

The ducks drove up to them and jumped out of the Migrator. They stood ready as Duke looked at the two and began to laugh quietly.

"Oh yeah, I should have known you Saurian scum would bring them here. It's Patrick, the one who nobody knows anything about and Rene, the young brat without parents. No surprise at all," Duke smirked.

Duke thought about what he said for a moment. He gave a small laugh.

"Let me rephrase that, it is a bit of a surprise. I never expected to see you here," Duke replied.

"Hey, who're you calling a brat? You don't know where I've been," demanded Rene, stepping forward.

Patrick grabbed her arm, preventing her from going any further. She glanced back to see that he was shaking his head.

"Okay everybody, attack," ordered Wildwing.

Mallory gasped as Wildwing gave this order as she stared at the new arrivals, the sight of them triggoring long forgotten memories.

"No!" she cried as she quickly moved in front of Grin.

"Mallory, what's wrong?" asked Grin, becoming slightly concerned.

She glanced over at Rene, who was glaring at Duke with an evil look, before finally looking back at him with a sad face.

_'It isn't her. My mind is playing tricks on me. I guess I just want to see her again so badly, it seems like everyone is reminding me of her,'_ she sadly thought to herself, backing away.

"Nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew along time ago but it isn't her," Mallory lied.

"Sorry, but we've got to go right now. We've more pressing matters to deal with so see you another time," Chameleon told them before they disappeared into thin air.

The Ducks looked at the spot at where they once stood.

"How the heck could they bring those three here? Didn't we destroy their gateway generator?" Wildwing muttered.

"That's the problem. We did," Tanya replied.

00000

Back at the Pond, Tanya was looking at Drake 1. On the screen before her, were the pictures of Patrick and Rene. The other ducks stood around her.

"Rene and Patrick. They're well-known thieves and one of the best, if not the best, teams on Puckworld. This could be bad Wildwing. They'll be just as good as Falcone or even Duke," Tanya finally said. "I recognize the other duck as Sanyo, though it'll be some time before I find anything on him."

"Could have Dragaunus brought them here with his generator Tanya?" wondered Wildwing. "Is it possible that they did fix it?"

"I really doubt it Wildwing. He didn't have the time to fix it nor does he have the proper technology here," replied Tanya, looking at him.

"Then how did those three come here if Dragaunus' generator is not fixed yet?" Grin curiously asked.

"That is the million dollar question. It's impossible," Tanya replied, before turning back to the computer. "Who knows what they're going to be planning with them here?"

00000

Dragaunus paced back and forth between the three.

"I'm glad both of you could make it. Your friend is welcome to stay as long as he stays out of trouble and out of the way. Although he could also help you if it a situation comes up that could use his expertise," he told them.

"What expertise? I'm an historian," Sanyo argued with a small laugh.

He received a barrage of stares from the others. He looked between them and stepped back a few steps.

"What?" he asked, lifting up his hands.

"What would you like us to do, my Lord?" asked Patrick.

"We are flexible, as you already know. What you want, we can probably do," Rene added.

"This is my idea. Siege, Wraith and Chameleon will be there to help if it's needed, which I know isn't going to be necessary since you're so much more competant than they are," Dragaunus said.

Siege growled as Dragaunus began to tell them his idea. Rene smiled as she glanced over at Patrick, who had a hand placed on his chin.

"Hey, I like it. When do we start?" Rene eagerly asked.

00000

"Duke, it's obvious you know these two. What can we expect from them?" asked Wildwing.

"Anything we should know before we see them again?" asked Nosedive.

"Well, they are very unpredictable. Kind of like me and Tanya is right; they are just as good as either Falcone and even myself, the only difference is that they work as a team and neither of us did. Rene is smarter than she looks, despite the fact that she's in her late teens, and Patrick has a lot, and I do mean _a lot_, of hidden tricks and trade secrets," Duke started.

"Anything about their past we should know about?" wondered Mallory.

"I don't know their past. You could try and find out but Patrick has kept his past to himself. No one ever could, or can, pry it out of him, no matter how hard they tried. Don't even try to bother if you come face to face with him. You'll just get a brick wall if and when you do bring up the subject," Duke replied. "Ever since Rene came into the Brotherhood when she really young, around the tender age of four or five I think, they've been an inseparable team. I find that extremely strange because before she became a thief, Patrick was always solo, like me. Ever since, they've always kept an eye out for each other and they do pretty much everything together. They are rarely ever seen apart."

"Everything? Don't they ever get tired of each other? I'm surprised her parents aren't involved at all," Nosedive mused.

"That's the problem. Rene doesn't know who her parents are since she was so young when they died she was told. She doesn't even remember them and no one around her knew who they were so she'll never know. Also, be warned, she can be a bit of a brat every once in a while. At least that's the impression she tends to give everyone. It's probably a tactic of hers to keep everyone away from her and possibly Patrick. Only thing I can figure is that they want their privacy about themselves," Duke explained.

"So they can be very dangerous. We have to do something about them then," Wildwing told the ducks. "Let's go."

He started off only to find the others had not moved. He glanced between everyone before finally coming to Tanya.

"Uh, Wildwing, how are we supposed to _find_ them? They aren't exactly on our doorstep and there's no way to track them down unless they do something," asked Tanya.

He deeply sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"To be very honest with you, I haven't got a clue," he replied. "All we can really do now is wait and see what happens."

He didn't take notice until that moment that Mallory had suddenly left the room.

"Where's Mallory? I thought she would've stayed here with the group," Wildwing wondered.

"I'll go see what's wrong," Tanya offered. "She's probably headed to her quarters. She seems to be upset about something."

Wildwing nodded and he watched as Tanya headed after Mallory.

"I wonder what's gotten into Mallory?" Duke mused. "Ever since Rene and Patrick arrived, she hasn't been quite herself. Is it possible she might know them after all?"

00000

Mallory walked into her quarters and soon sat down on the bed. She grabbed a book from off the the nighttable. A book that she had brought from Puckworld. It was the only book ever written about Thief au Combat, with what little information was known about him. She opened it up to reveal a photograph of herself and a small child.

_'Could it possibly be you Rene? It has been so long since I saw you,'_ she thought to herself.

She quietly gasped when she heard a knock on her door. She hid the book underneath the pillows before slowly walked over to it and opened it up to reveal Tanya.

"Mallory, we're worried about you. Would you like to talk about what's bothering you?" wondered Tanya.

"No, not really. It's nothing, really. It's something I wish stayed in the past. At least part of it," Mallory replied.

"Remember that we're all here if you want to talk at all," Tanya told her.

Mallory nodded as Tanya left the room. She walked over to the bed and pulled the book back out.

_'Where are you now Combat? I'd love to know what you ever did with her. If you ever harmed her, I would make you pay. Maybe...'_ Mallory thought to herself. _'If you had ever harmed her in any way Combat, you will hear from me.'_

Mallory growled to herself as she walked over to the wall and punched a hole in it.

TBC...


	3. Unseen Visiter

Wildwing paced back and forth as the others watched him. It had been several days since Sanyo, Patrick and Rene showed up on Earth and so far, the two thieves had been eluding their best efforts.

"You'd better stop that Wildwing," Duke told him.

The leader stopped and turned to face the ex-thief, a slightly angry look on his face even from behind the mask.

"And why is that now Duke? What are you going to tell me to do?" Wildwing demanded.

"That you're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep that up," Duke simply replied.

Wildwing sighed as he turned towards Tanya, who was sitting next to the computer.

"What are we doing wrong with these two?" Wildwing wondered.

"Doing wrong?" she asked, slightly confused.

"We haven't been able to catch up with them yet. They always seem to be two steps ahead of us. It seems like they know what we're plaaning. What we're about to do next," Wildwing sighed.

Duke glanced around at everyone before his stare came to Mallory. He found that she seemed quiet during this type of conversation. He glanced over at Nosedive and sighed. Duke stepped away from the group, hands behind his back. The five watched him carefully, wondering what was going through his mind.

"Where do you think he's going now?" Nosedive wondered.

"I don't know. I'm not sure I want to know," Wildwing said.

"Sometimes, in order to find answers to a problem, one must go the source," Grin told the group.

The group stared at him with disbelief in their faces. Wildwing raised his eyebrows.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mallory asked.

"It means in order to know why something has happened, one should ask the one who did it in the first place," Grin replied.

"You mean if we want to know why Rene and Patrick are doing this, we have to ask them?" Wildwing wanted to make sure.

Grin nodded. The team leader wasn't believing what he was hearing and neither was his brother. Nosedive snorted, crossing his arms.

"Like that's going to happen. I doubt they will talk. They're not to be trusted," he quietly said.

"There's not much we can do until they do something else. There's no pattern to what they're doing so we can't figure out where they're going to be next. Get some rest everyone," Wildwing told the group.

Nosedive watched both Tanya and his brother leave the room. Nosedive began to follow them but stopped in the shadows just past the doorway, noticing that Mallory and Grin stayed behind for a moment. He had placed a hand on her shoulder, preventing her from leaving.

"Mallory, is there something wrong?" Grin asked her.

"There's nothing wrong. What makes you think something is wrong?" Mallory wondered.

"The way you've been acting whenever these two, this Patrick and Rene, have been mentioned. That's why. Now is there anything you would like to tell me?" Grin replied.

Mallory sighed as he stepped away from Grin. She crossed her arms before looking back at him.

"It's because I might know them. Well, at least her. I don't know about Patrick," Mallory finally told him.

Grin was a bit surprised by this. Up until now, they all believed that Duke was the only one who knew the two thieves. He walked closer to her.

"You said you might know them? You think you might not believe it is who it is?" Grin asked. "Or is it something else?"

"It's just that it's been thirteen years. I don't think I can be certain it is her until I talk to her face to face. Something I don't think I'd be able to. If it is her, I don't know if she remembers me or not. She was so young at the time before being taken by _him_," explained Mallory.

She almost spat out the word and Grin raised his eyebrows when she did. He wondered who the duck was that she just spoke of.

"And I can't even be certain the duck with her is actually him either! That's the frustrating part for I never saw the duck's face! I wish I had," Mallory told him. "This isn't going to leave me alone and I cannot find out anything. I don't think we'll ever catch up with them. Not if they keep this charade up."

"At least not for a while. They can't keep running from us forever. They soon have to make a mistake somewhere. Then we can ask them," Grin told her.

"I hope you're right. If it is her, I just don't want anything to happen to her," Mallory barely said.

Grin gave a slight nod and smile before they started to head out of the room. He decided not to push the matter further before they started to head right to where Nosedive was hiding. The young duck saw them coming and immediately headed for his room. The two heard the footsteps. hurrying away from them.

"Who was that?" Mallory wondered.

"I do not know. I could not see their face," Grin replied.

"Well, whoever it was, I hope they didn't hear our conversation. I'd be humiliated," Mallory said.

00000

Nosedive hurried into his room and sat on his bed. He thought about what he heard Mallory say about the two ducks.

_'Mallory might know the younger duck personally? But how she could know Rene? How? Duke knows her from being a thief,'_ Nosedive wondered.

He laid back on the pillow, hands behind his head. His mind went back to Rene. He didn't want to think about her but he found he was anyway. He had noticed that she was indeed around his age. He couldn't imagine how she became a thief in the first place.

"Where have I seen her before? All of them before. I know I have seen them face to face before," he asked out loud.

He bolted up in the bed, remembering where he had seen the three faces before. Somewhere other than in the news.

"Digit San. The one duck works there and Patrick and Rene have helped him for years now. But why is the question? How did they first meet?" Nosedive wondered.

He climbed off of the bed and headed for the door, grabbing his jacket along the way.

00000

Rene stood across the street from the Pond. She was glad she wore a trenchcoat since it was a chilly night. She stared at the building, giving a small sigh in the process.

"Why am I drawn to this place? Why?" she wondered out loud. "Or is it because of someone inside? I guess I won't know for a while. I'll have to curb my curiousity for the time being. I don't intend to have any peace talks with them anytime soon."

She began to step away from the building, heading to meet Patrick. She heard voices nearby, causing her to see who it was. She found it was a few fans of the Mighty Ducks.

"Look! There's one of them! We should get an autograph!" cried one of them.

_'Oh no! They've seen me! I have to get out of here! I knew I shouldn't have come here!'_ Rene thought to herself.

She began to run away from the people, who began to follow her. Rene ran into a nearby alleyway yet they still followed her. She came to a dead end and she growled.

"All this time here and I am still not used to these streets. Puckworld's streets, I'm used to. Not here. At least not yet," she muttered.

"There she is!" cried one of the people. "After her!"

Rene watched as the few hurried towards her when suddenly, a rope dangled in front of her face. She glanced up to see a duck standing on the roof above her. She grabbed the rope and began to climb up the wall.

"Great, she got away. Too bad. We'll get an autograph someday," one of the people said.

Rene sighed as she climbed to the rooftop. She glanced at the cloaked figure beside her out of the corner of her eye, figuring it was Patrick.

"Thanks Patrick. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along," Rene said, barely looking at the duck.

"You're welcome," replied a different voice.

Rene paled at the voice, realizing who really was standing next to her. Her stare turned towards Duke, who was watching her from underneath the hood over his head.

"Duke," she finally said.

"Yeah. Last time I checked, that's my name," Duke told her. "Now do you mind telling me why you're here?"

Rene gulped as she stared at the older duck, standing before her, unable to answer him.

TBC...


	4. Talk Between Theives

"You haven't answered my question yet: why are you here?" Duke told her.

He stepped towards her, causing her to step back. He narrowed his eyes at the movement as he managed to move around her.

"What's the matter Rene? You've never been scared of me before," Duke wondered.

"Before, I knew you weren't going to hurt me. Now is a different matter since I'm helping Dragaunus," she replied.

Duke gave a small smirk as he walked out to the ledge and sat down. He motioned for her to follow him, which she reluctantly did.

"Rene, you may be working for Dragaunus, but I came to ask you a few questions. Not to take you in or anything like that. I may be older and on the other side, but I'm not crazy. I've been through this before with the police back on Puckworld," Duke told her.

Rene nodded her head as she looked back down the ground.

"Duke..." she started.

"I simply want to know more about you, that's all. I never really did have a chance to get to know you better back on Puckworld since we didn't come in contact much," Duke explained to her.

"Duke, I wonder why you'd ever want to know more about me? My story is not worth mentioning or knowing. My parents were killed when I was a duckling. Then there was one woman who took care of me until I was four when Patrick took me in. What else is there to know?" Rene asked him. "Besides..."

She stopped and turned away from the older duck. Duke looked over at her yet remained quiet. He knew that she wanted to say something.

"Duke, you've always treated me differently than the other ducks. Is it because of my age or something like that? What is it?" she wondered.

Duke smiled at the question as he stared over the city. He shrugged his shoulders slighty.

"I don't know. Something about you seems - different. You seem innocent in a sense since you didn't know your parents. When you were brought into the Brotherhood when you were four, I was wondering how long you'd survive around us," Duke started. "I was there the day that Patrick brought you in. I thought it was strange to see you with him, let alone anyone. I've known Patrick longer than you were alive and that was unlike him."

"And it's funny but I've always gotten a strange feeling from you Duke," Rene told him.

Duke appeared surprised by this remark as he stared at the younger duck.

"And can you explain this strange feeling to me?" Duke asked her.

"I can't really. It's almost like - I've met you before the Brotherhood," Rene told him.

"Sometimes, life throws you a strange hand and you just have to live with it. Believe me, I know but it's impossible that we've met before you joined the Brotherhood. In the time that I was in the Brotherhood, when I was taking what I wanted, when I wanted, there's only one time that I actually became friends with someone who wasn't a thief and I don't ever regret becoming friends with her," Duke told her.

"What happened to her?" Rene asked.

"She - died, many years ago. She was murdered in cold blood," Duke replied, a sad look crossing his face.

Rene began to regret asking about it. She remembered in the back of her mind that he was on the other side, but was he? She had worked with him several times and she found him to be true to his word.

"That's in the past and I can't do anything to change it. All I can do now is find information about the from whoever was there that night. That is if I can find anyone who was there. I haven't yet," Duke said.

"Wait a moment. That's what you're trying to do!" Rene suddenly cried out.

Duke glanced around from side to side, appearing slightly confused at the accusation.

"What am I trying to do again?" Duke asked her.

"You're trying to make me reveal what Dragaunus' plans are without directly asking me!" Rene told him. "I should have known that was why you helped me escape from those people! I been warned about you!"

"No Rene, you don't understand!" Duke cried out to her.

But she didn't hear him for she had jumped off the roof and when she landed on the ground, she immediately began to run away. He jumped down and began to follow her. He wanted to tell her what he really felt but he figured that she wouldn't listen to him. What she just said to him proved his fear.

"Rene, if only I could have told you my story," Duke quietly told himself.

He absently raised a hand to his patched eye, remembering how he got it in the first place. He turned around and headed back into the Pond.

"If I ever found him, he'd be dead for what he did to them - and me," Duke said quietly.

He silently headed back to the Pond before any of the others realized he was gone.

00000

Nosedive ran outside and glanced around the area. He wondered what he was looking for as he headed down the street.

"Why am I getting so interested in her? I wish I knew why," Nosedive asked himself.

He wondered where he could start looking for her or either of her friends. He knew Patrick was even better than Rene and he doubted that their friend was going to be anywhere in sight.

"Man, Wildwing's gonna kill me once he finds out I'm gone and what I'm doing," Nosedive muttered.

He started to head away from the Pond. Nosedive found himself seraching every place he passed. He stopped in front of an alleyway and turned towards the building across the street.

"I don't even know why I'm doing this anymore. It's useless since I know they could be anywhere in town," he said.

He soon found himself being pulled back and his mouth covered. He found himself staring at Patrick and Rene.

"I'm glad I came across you Patrick. I found he was following me, whether he was realizing it or not. I don't like it when people follow me," Rene told him.

"We should take him back to Dragaunus. I know he'll have some fun with this one," Patrick replied. "I'll deal with you when we get back to the Raptor. Now where are we going to be taking him? Any suggestions?"

"As a matter of fact, I know of a place we could use," Rene replied.

Rene sighed as she grabbed her sabre. Nosedive watched as she lifted it up, bringing it down over his head. Everything went dark and he slumped to the ground.

00000

"... and I don't want you to go anywhere near that place again! Duke is smart and I know that he knows how to pry information from others," Patrick angrily said.

"I'm sorry but I couldn't stay away," Rene apologized. "There's something about that place that fascinates me."

"Maybe the reason is right here in this room," Patrick quietly said.

Nosedive opened his eyes slightly to find Rene standing around the room, her stare fixed on him. Patrick stood next to her, an angry look on his face. Rene stepped away from him and towards Nosedive, who found himself to be strapped down to a table.

"What do you want with me?" Nosedive wondered.

Patrick snickered at the comment as he stepped out of the room, waving his hand on the way as if saying 'he's all yours'. Rene stared at the door, lowering her head slightly.

"You're the perfect bait, that's why. Once your team finds out that you're missing, they'll come searching for you. They'll never find you. We will kill them and then we will kill you," Rene told him.

Nosedive looked her over from head to toe. He found himself feeling sorry for her and he wasn't exactly certain why.

"How could you grow up to be so cold?" Nosedive finally asked her.

"It comes with the company I keep. If you lived my life, you'd be cold too. I've lived most of my life around the thieves of Puckworld," Rene told him.

"Where did you live the other part of your life?" Nosedive asked.

"I was with Lory. She took care of me and gave me the best chance of a normal life I could get," she replied.

Rene started to walk towards him and then around the table. Nosedive began to think of the worst case scenario.

"It's ducks like you that have always hated my people. I only wished that you'd see our side of it but now, it's too late," Rene said. "It would take something drastic to change my mind."

She lifted her sabre from her ankle and it materialized before her. Nosedive gulped as he stared at it.

00000

Wildwing walked through the halls at the Pond, looking for his younger brother. After he found that Nosedive's room empty, Wildwing wondered where Nosedive could've possibly gone to. He soon arrived in the kitchen, where he found Duke preparing a sandwich.

"Duke, have you seen Nosedive?" Wildwing asked him.

"Not lately. Why? What do you want with him?" wondered Duke.

There's something I need to ask him," Wildwing replied.

"Don't worry about Nosedive. He's old enough that he doesn't need to tell you everywhere he's going. He probably just went out to see another movie or something like that," Duke told him.

Wildwing sighed at the thief's positive attitude towards the youngest member of the group. Wildwing turned away from Duke, who carefully watched the team leader.

"What's wrong Wildwing? You think something might have actually happened to him?" Duke asked.

Wildwing nodded as he turned back toward thief.

"I know that he's gone off on his own before but I have a feeling that something's different this time. The bad part is that no one's seen him in hours. He may be a bit rebellious but at least he lets me know where he is after a couple of hours," Wildwing sighed.

Duke nodded his response. They both suddenly heard a soft beeping noise coming from Wildwing's armour. He checked his com to see Tanya, a worried look on her face.

"Wildwing, you should come and see this," she told him.

"What going's on now? Unless it's something to do with Nosedive, I don't want to hear about it," Wildwing replied.

"Believe me Wildwing, it's about Nosedive," Tanya said.

That caught Wildwing's attention as he stared, wide-eyed at the blonde. He ran toward the door and headed for the upper levels. Duke soon followed him.

00000

Once the two arrived near the rink, the two found Grin, Mallory and Tanya in their bench area. Tanya was holding a piece or armour and a puck launcher. Wildwing couldn't believe it when he saw the two items.

"Where is he?" Wildwing demanded to know.

"With the Saurians," Mallory replied, handing him a note.

Wildwing read it and grew angry, balling it up and throwing it across the rink. Everyone was a bit surprised with the outburst.

"We have to go find him," Wildwing told them.

"Wildwing, we have no idea where they are. They could be anywhere in the city. It could be days before we find him and he could very well be - well-" started Tanya.

She hesitated for a moment and Wildwing picked up on that.

"He could be very well what? Killed? I won't allow that. These ducks are going to far. Taking one of our own as prisoner," Wildwing angrily replied.

Duke placed a hand on his chin, pondering the situation for a moment. He searched his memory, the current situation triggering a familiarity from a past experience.

"They could be anywhere, yes, but they won't be at the Raptor," he finally said.

The other ducks turned their stares toward him, waiting for him to finish.

"That's not how Patrick and Rene work, taking their prisoners back to base. Seeing as how Patrick signed this note, I know how they're going to deal with Nosedive," Duke explained.

TBC...


	5. Getting Somewhere

"What are they going to do to Nosedive?" Wildwing demanded to know. "What?"

"Well, he will be tortured for certain. How, is yet to be seen," Duke explained.

"Perfect, we don't know where he is and we know he's going to be tortured," Wildwing sighed.

"We also don't know by who," Duke put in.

The other four ducks glanced over at him, slightly confused looks on their faces.

"By who?" Mallory repeated. "You mean you don't know who's going to be doing this? How could this get any worse?"

"I know it's going to be either Rene or Patrick but I don't know which one. They have drastically different techniques but they yield the same results. We have to find him soon," Duke replied. "They have their own ideas of how they decide who should have the honour. I don't know how they decide."

Wildwing ran towards the Migrator and the others soon followed him. They headed out of the Pond and into the streets.

"How can we find them if they could be anywhere?" Wildwing wondered.

"We do it the only way we can," Duke replied.

"And how's that again?" Mallory asked. "I don't remember you telling us."

"The old-fashioned way - look! And maybe we can find them before they seriously hurt Nosedive," Duke replied.

The others sighed. They all knew they didn't know where to start searching and Duke's idea of simply looking was the best thing they could come up with without resorting to other methods. The soon decided to split up and head in different directions.

00000

Duke looked out over the city. He was wondering about Patrick at the moment, about why he was doing this again. Rene was no easier to figure out.

"Patrick, what have you done? You've incurred the wrath of an older brother," Duke quietly said.

"Oh really? I'm so scared," came a sarcastic voice. "Family doesn't scare me. It never has and never will."

Duke turned around to see Patrick standing on the roof behind him. Duke stood up, ready to grab his sabre if the situation needed it.

"Where's the kid Patrick?" Duke demanded to know.

"The one you call 'Nosedive'? He's alive and in one piece. I don't know how well he's going to be in the end after Rene gets done with him," Patrick replied.

"Should've figured that one out, letting a kid harm a kid," Duke mused. "Why?"

"Duke, we've had many hostages but none around her age. She had yet to be around someone that was her age. Shouldn't she be able to play?" Patrick mused, a smirk on his face.

Duke growled before grabbing the sabre off his shoulder. He lunged for Patrick, who pulled his out from behind his back. The two traded blows for several minutes when they heard a vehicle on the street. Duke gave a knowing smile.

"That's your friends, isn't it? Well, they'll never catch me," Patrick told him.

He turned to leave the building when he found himself being knocked over. He hit the rooftop and turned his head enough to see Mallory on top of him. He inwardly groaned for letting his guard down long enough for her to do that.

"Get off of me!" he cried.

"Not yet buster. Not until you lead us to Nosedive. I don't know where you ever got the idea of hurting people but Nosedive is going to be the last one," she angrily replied.

Patrick laughed quietly as he listened to her talk.

"You know, you're cute when you're angry and I'm never going to tell you my secret of that idea you just had," Patrick snickered. "My life is my own and no one else needs to know it."

Duke ran over to her in order to help her to keep him pinned down. Patrick struggled but found he couldn't free himself from their grasp. He watched as Grin, Tanya and Wildwing ran onto the roof. He groaned.

"Good job everyone. We managed to get one of them," Wildwing said. "Then, maybe he can tell us where my brother is located."

"I'll never talk and I'm very good at it too. Years of practise and I've taught Rene well in the subject," Patrick coldly replied.

Grin walked up to him, making sure that Patrick didn't escape. Mallory stepped up to face Patrick. She had an angry look on her face yet the thief continued to hold a smirk on his face.

"Then how do you know Sanyo then? Tell me!" she ordered him.

"What's it to you? What does a part-time tour guide have to do with you, a military duck? Yes, I can tell you are part of the military. I've come across several in my life," Patrick wondered.

Mallory growled, not wanting to answer the question. Patrick gave a small laugh before shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe another time, you'll tell me. I can wait and I would like to know," Patrick told her. "I won't tell you until you tell me."

Patrick noticed that they hadn't taken away his sabre. He moved his hand closer to the base of it when Wildwing walked up to him and took it out of his hand. He tossed it over to Duke, who examined it. Duke soon nodded.

"It's safe. We're good to head out," Duke said.

"Good, let's take him back. Blindfold him," Wildwing replied.

00000

She lifted up her sabre and stuck in the table, right between his legs. Nosedive did his best to get as far away from it as possible. He was beginning to regret heading out to look for her. He knew that he should have known something like this would happen. She gave a smile at his reaction.

"That was way too close if you ask me," Nosedive told her.

"That was the point. I want to see you squirm," Rene replied. "You and your kind of duck make me sick sometimes. Most of you hate what you don't understand. If you only knew what I had to go through, there'd be another reason why you'd hate me."

"You've given me enough reasons already, between helping Dragaunus and holding me captive here. Wildwing's not going to be happy when he finds out you've got me," Nosedive told her.

Rene narrowed her eyes before reaching towards Noesdive and placed her hand over his throat. He held his breath, fearful that she was going to choke him.

"How is this Wildwing related to you anyway?" she wondered.

"He's my brother," Nosedive replied, slight anger in his voice.

He waited for her to tighten her hand but it never came when they heard a noise from across the room. Rene glanced to see that Sanyo walked into the room, with Chameleon right behind him. They walked up to the two ducks.

"What is it?" wondered Rene.

"There's been a slight change in plans. Dragaunus wants you to bring the Ducks out into the open sooner than originally planned. We like to get rid of them as soon as possible. Once we get rid of them sooner, the sooner you can get the respect you deserve," Chameleon told her.

Rene nodded her as she watched the shapeshifter leave. Sanyo also watched him leave, a distrustful look in his eyes.

"Sanyo, what's wrong?" she asked him.

"I don't trust them," Sanyo replied.

"You don't trust anyone save Patrick and myself," she smirked.

Nosedive watched the two of them before his stare came to rest on Sanyo. He narrowed his eyes the longer he stared at the red-haired duck. He thought he recognized something in the duck.

"Hey Sanyo, how did you get to know the brat over there?" Nosedive called out to him.

"Who're you calling a brat?" Rene interrupted.

She walked over to him and grabbed her sabre by the handle. She leaned it forward and Nosedive yelped out.

"You'd better be careful what you say for I can be very dangerous. You'd better shut your mouth otherwise you might not be able to have children," Rene warned him.

"Like I'd have the chance anyway. I'm not going to get back to Puckworld anytime soon and I doubt that I'm going to do anything with anyone here. Particularly not you if that thought ever crossed your mind," Nosedive replied.

He struggled in his binds and Rene growled. Sanyo walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her down. He faced Nosedive as Rene walked away from them.

"To answer your question, I met Rene and Patrick purely by accident. They let me talk before their instincts kicked in," Sanyo quietly explained. "I know I was one of the lucky ones and so are you. Trust me on that for I know them better than anyone on Puckworld."

Nosedive raised his eyebrows at what Sanyo said. Before he could think about anything else, a small flashing light caught his attention. Nosedive saw that it came from the handle of Rene's sabre. He wondered what it meant as Rene saw it. She ran over to the table and quickly pulled it out. She stared at it for a moment, giving a sigh.

"Patrick," she barely said. "Looks like your friends have my mentor. Shall we pay them a visit?"

Nosedive gulped as he stared at her, wondering what was going to happen next.

TBC...


	6. A Confrontation

Rene led Nosedive out of the building, with Sanyo following close behind. Sanyo noticed that she remained quiet as she held the rope that was tied around Nosedive's wrists.

"Rene, what's wrong?" Sanyo asked her.

Rene glanced back at him and sighed. She didn't want to answer but she figured it to be best.

"They have Patrick and I'd love to know how. He's not the type to let himself get captured," Rene replied.

"If I know the other Ducks, they're giving him what he deserves. He let his guard down enough and the others got him," Nosedive told them.

Rene and Sanyo stared at him when he was talking. She stopped and grabbed Nosedive by the arm.

"I just hope for your sake that nothing happens to him. Not many know what I've learned from him," she replied.

"Just what kind of sick relationship do you have with this guy? I mean, he's more than twice your age. You're my age and he's more like Duke's," Nosedive wondered.

"He's the father I never had or knew," Rene replied.

Nosedive decided to remain quiet and thought about what he had learned about them from between her and Duke.

00000

Duke paced back and forth before the cell, carefully watching Patrick as he sat quietly in his cell. Patrick's eyes followed Duke, a smile on his face. Patrick gave a small laugh as he watched the former thief.

"What's so funny Patrick?" wondered Duke.

"You are. You and your friends are so worried about me but you're forgetting about Rene and Sanyo," Patrick replied.

Duke appeared a bit surprised by this before stepping up to the bars.

"And why exactly? It's not like they know you're here with us yet. We've made sure you haven't contacted them and we haven't let the Saurians know we have you yet. Beside, as as far I understand, Sanyo's harmless," Duke wondered.

Patrick laughed, causing the feathers on Duke's neck to stand up. Duke began to reach for his sabre but Patrick shook his head.

"No sense to do that just yet, old friend. Save it for later. By the way, don't you remember anything about the Brotherhood of the Blade? You should know that the blade of a thief, when it comes down to the basics, works the same as any other. It's the differences between them that make the thief," Patrick replied. "For example, remember Falcone's blade?"

Duke was surprised at this before glancing at Patrick's sabre.

"She knows, doesn't she?" asked Duke.

"So what if she does or not? She has your young friend, remember? What's the matter, don't you want to see him safe?" Patrick said.

Duke didn't answer before he ran out the door. He went to find Wildwing, who he found near Drake 1, talking to Tanya. The two were surprised to see him so soon.

"Duke, what's wrong? Has Patrick escaped? What?" wondered Wildwing.

"Worse than that, Rene knows we have Patrick. Somehow, she knows and he contacted her," Duke replied.

"What? He told you that?" Wildwing asked.

"Not directly but he gave me an indication that he let her know through his sabre before we took it from him. We have to be ready for we don't know when she'll contact us," Duke replied.

Wildwing sighed, wondering what they should do. Tanya and Duke watched him carefully.

"We want to get Nosedive back but we don't want to lead them here. How are we going to be able to get a hold of them?" wondered Tanya.

"I don't know. Where do we continue from here?" Wildwing said.

"I'd say we have Patrick tell us. I think I might be able to coerce him into telling me," Duke put in.

Wildwing glanced over at the former thief and nodded. Duke walked away from the two as Tanya stood up.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Tanya asked him.

"What?" Wildwing wondered.

"What I mean is, going out and looking for them. I realize they have Nosedive but they're some of the most dangerous foes we've come across since we've arrived here on Earth," Tanya wondered.

"They somehow got here without the use of Dragaunus' gateway generator. I'd like to find out how. That's why we need to find them alive and soon. Maybe Nosedive could tell us something when we get him back," Wildwing told her.

Tanya nodded before heading to find Mallory and Grin to tell them the news.

00000

"So where are we headed anyway?" wondered Nosedive.

"Wherever this leads me. Oh, the joys of Puckworld technology," Rene replied, refering to her sabre.

Sanyo followed closely behind the two, glancing over his shoulder periodically as if watching for something to jump out at them.

"What are you so worried about Sanyo? There's no one here to hurt you," Rene told him without looking around.

"I'm more worried about those Saurians and you know it," Sanyo replied.

Nosedive snickered as he listened in on their conversation.

"I don't believe you two. I still want to find out how exactly you two met and how you got here," Nosedive told them.

"You probably won't live that long to find out," Rene told him.

"I don't know what Wildwing's going to do with you when he finds you," Nosedive said.

Rene gave a small laugh. Sanyo choked back a laugh himself as Nosedive wondered what was so funny. He gave them a look that said 'okay, what was that all about?'

"They're not going to find us. We're heading straight for them," Rene finally told him.

Nosedive was surprised as he looked in the direction of the Pond.

00000

Duke walked back to the cell, finding that Patrick was now standing next to the bars.

"So what's my verdict? Am I going to die?" Patrick sarcastically asked.

"I can only hope," Duke told him.

"Duke, if you want me to believe that I am going to possibly die soon, you have to improve your image a bit. In order to strike fear into your victims, you have to act invincible," Patrick told him.

"You're starting to sound like Combat," Duke mused.

"Thief au Combat? The legendary killer from recent times? How do I sound like him?" Patrick wondered.

"The way you're talking. It sounds like something he would say," Duke replied.

"And how would you know how he talked? Were you ever in his presence?" Patrick asked.

Duke remained silent and Patrick started to laugh as he began to walk away from the bars.

"I didn't think so," Patrick finally said.

"And how would you know how he talked? We didn't meet that often but I know you well enough that you don't associate with murderers. None of the thieves do and you know that," Duke told him.

Patrick turned away from Duke and gave himself a knowing smile.

"I don't know but it seems Rene has gotten all of you into a mess by leading your friend astray. You feel that you can try and have me tell you where they are or how to contact them. I suppose that's why you came back to see me," Patrick said.

Duke was surprised by this assumption as he carefully watched Patrick.

"I'm not an idiot Duke, as some people thought. I never was and I never will be. I know more than some realize," Patrick coldly said.

Wildwing walked into the room and glanced between the two.

"Am I interrupting anything?" he wondered.

"No, you came just at the right moment," Duke replied, slight anger obvious in his voice.

Wildwing didn't even want to ask what happened between the two as he walked up to Patrick.

"Well, anything you'd like to tell us?" Wildwing said.

"Why would I have to tell you anything? My beak is sealed," Patrick replied.

He sat down in the chair and placed his hands behind his head, crossing his ankles. Wildwing grabbed the bars.

"Tell us where they are!" Wildwing demanded.

The thief glanced between them, giving them a smile that indicated he knew something. Both Duke and Wildwing were worried about it.

"If you really must know where Rene and Sanyo are, they're on their way here," Patrick replied.

Duke and Wildwing gave horrified looks as they ran out of the room. Patrick gave an evil grin as he watched them leave.

"They'll be back for me, I know it. I know how they work," he quietly said.

00000

Duke and Wildwing ran up to Drake 1 to see that Tanya, Grin and Mallory were all ready for them.

"So what did he say?" Mallory wondered.

"They're on their way. We have to be ready for them," Wildwing replied.

"But if they come here, they'll know where we are! Dragaunus already knows where we are but I don't think they do! I've been wondering why he hadn't told them yet," Tanya cried out.

"Either they don't know or they have no way to get inside. Now they have Nosedive, they have a better shot in getting at us. I say we go out and greet them," Mallory interrupted.

"I'm with Mallory. If we want to get Nosedive back, we'll have to do it with force," Wildwing agreed. "And we'll take our 'guest' with us," Wildwing told them.

The others nodded before Duke went to get Patrick.

"So you've finally come to get me. How nice," Patrick said.

"We're going for a little walk Patrick and maybe you can help us with the arrangements," Duke replied.

Patrick smiled to himself as he allowed himself to be led out of the building.

00000

Nosedive watched the Pond get closer into view as Rene led him to it. She stopped, forcing him to stop.

"Looks like we're here. Look familiar to you?" she innocently asked.

"You knew about the Pond the whole time?" Nosedive asked.

"Of course we did! We just didn't know how to get inside!" Rene told him.

"Too bad you're not going to get in," came a familiar voice.

The three looked to see the five remaining Ducks, with Patrick in hand. Wildwing stepped forward.

"Release my brother and no harm will come to Patrick," he said.

Sanyo watched them closely, glancing at Patrick periodically to see if he would signal anything. When nothing came, he became slightly worried. He glanced over at Rene to see if he could read her face but he couldn't. Rene forced Nosedive to fall to his knees.

"How do I know you're going to keep your word? I've seen ducks before that say something and then go back on their word," Rene wondered.

"Oh, give me a break," Duke muttered.

He placed his sabre underneath Patrick's beak, removing some doubt from Rene.

"You're outnumbered Rene, what makes you think you can win this battle?" Duke called to her.

"Do you really think I'd come unprepared?" Rene called back.

With that, Wraith, Chameleon and Siege appeared behind Rene and Sanyo along with several drones.

"Surprise!" cried Siege.

Duke released Patrick in order to defend himself against the oncoming blasts. Patrick ran towards Rene and Sanyo. He glanced at Nosedive and snickered.

"I'm surprised Rene. You usually aren't one for surprises," Patrick said.

Rene gave a smile, not realizing that Nosedive turned towards her. He kicked her in the arm and she grasped her elbow in response. He began to run towards the others as Patrick placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you all right?" he asked her.

"I'm fine. It didn't hurt. I'm just a little shook up, that's all. He just happened to kick me in my left arm," Rene replied.

"Now that they have their friend back and we have you back, let's get going," Sanyo pleaded.

"Not without my sabre," Patrick replied.

He ran back towards Duke, with Rene close behind him. Nosedive watched them as he stood near the Pond.

"Duke, watch out!" Nosedive cried out to him.

Duke turned to see that both Patrick and Rene were standing there. He sighed as he watched Patrick walk towards him.

"What do you want Patrick? We have Nosedive back and you're free to go," Duke wondered.

"Have you forgotten already? You have something of mine and I would like it back," Patrick replied.

He held out his hand as Duke remembered about the sabre. His stare went in the direction of the sabre, glancing between it and Patrick.

"If you want it back so badly, why don't you come and get it?" Duke told him.

Duke threw a puck in their direction and it immediately began to release smoke, obscuring the sight of the two thieves. Patrick coughed a few times before running after Duke. He followed the former thief towards the Pond. Duke stopped and turned to face Patrick.

"You can't win this. I'm armed and you're not," Duke told him.

"Maybe so but I've been in these situations before, though not many know it," Patrick said.

Duke was slightly confused by this statement and Patrick knew he had his opportunity. He lunged for Duke and tackled him to the ground. The two sabres left Duke's possession and they landed several feet away. Patrick quickly stood up and ran to grab his own.

"That was a cheap shot Patrick. I didn't know you were capable of that," Duke said as he stood up.

"There are several things people don't know I'm capable of," Patrick replied. "And how the tables have turned. Now I'm the one with the weapon and you don't know."

Duke growled as he carefully watched Patrick. He was preparing for Patrick to do his worst but it never came as Patrick ran back to Rene.

"We'll deal with this later," Patrick called over to him.

He grasped Rene around her waist before teleporting out of there. Sanyo, Siege, Chameleon and Wraith soon followed along with the drones which still remained. All were slightly confused as Wildwing walked up to his brother and cut the rope binding his hands.

"What can you tell us about these two?" Wildwing asked.

"We have to be careful. By what Sanyo told me, I should be thankful that I'm still here," Nosedive replied.

Mallory narrowed her eyes as she listened to what Nosedive had to say.

'If it really is the Rene I know, is it possible that Patrick might be him?' she asked herself.

She placed a hand on her beak and contemplated this thought as they headed inside.

00000

"Are you alright Rene?" Patrick asked.

"I'll be fine. Just let me know what we have to do next," she replied.

Dragaunus walked over to them, Wraith Chameleon and Siege standing across the room.

"Now for the final step in our plan. We have to bring them out into the open this one last time and destroy them once and for all," Dragaunus told them. "Is that understood?"

Patrick and Rene both nodded. She gave an evil smile as Patrick crossed his arms. Sanyo appeared worried about the whole situation.

_'Something's going to happen, I know it,'_ he thought to himself.

TBC...


	7. Realization

Patrick walked up to the front door of the bank. Rene stood several feet behind him. They both looked over the side of the building carefully.

"Do you really think this will catch their attention when can we go after the big stuff?" asked Rene, looking from side to side.

"Believe me, this'll catch their attention and soon enough, my dear Rene. Soon enough we will go after the big stuff. Soon enough," Patrick told her.

Sanyo walked up behind Rene. He couldn't believe that he was there at the bank with them, but he would rather be with someone he knew than the Saurians.

"I hate this planet and I want to go home. Besides, why am I here anyway? The only reason I'm here is because I happened to be with you at the time. I'm no good here and this place scares me. Just send me back to Puckworld _please_," he whined.

"Sanyo, is there anything wrong? I've never known you to be ever this nervous of anybody before. Besides, what's the difference between this situation with the Saurians and Combat?" Rene wondered. "They both like to kill and conquer.We bothknow how much you're interested in Combat."

"Oh nothing's wrong. It's just I find those Saurians creep me out a little, that's all. And I should tell you that Combat attacked out of hatred; these guys attack out of pleasure and greed might I add," he said, shivering. "As for Combat, he wouldn't be doing something like this."

"Sanyo, how dare you say that. Of course he would be. You don't know him as well as you thought you did," Patrick protested.

"Sorry Patrick, my mistake. You should know after all. What can I say about something I wouldn't know?" Sanyo apologized.

The Saurians suddenly appeared behind them. Patrick and Rene looked at them while Sanyo walked nervously beside Rene.

"How is it coming along?" asked Dragaunus.

"Good. I do believe we can get inside and not set off the alarm. That's if you don't want us to set it off. If you do, we can do that just as easily. It's not that hard, even for an amateur," Patrick told him.

"Trigger it. I want those Ducks to come. I want to finally put an end to some of their usefulness to this planet. They have cause me enough trouble. Once they're gone, we can take over this planet and then we can finally reclaim Puckworld," Dragaunus replied.

Patrick and Rene climbed to the top of the building and hurried inside. Patrick pulled his sabre out and so did Rene. They locked them together to form a hand bar. A string protruding from it was attached to the other wall.

"All right Rene, think you can do this? I'm getting to be just a bit too old, and cautious, for setting off alarms. I know you're cautious too but you're so much more agile than me," Patrick asked.

Rene nodded and hung onto the bar as it slid down the rope. Her feet hit the opposite wall and the alarm sounded. She gave a wide smile, looking around the room.

00000

The alarm sounded through the Pond. Tanya punched a few keys and the map appeared on the screen before them with a red blinking light on it.

"Wildwing, there's a break-in downtown, at one of the banks," Tanya told the others.

"Do you think it might be them?" asked Nosedive.

"I don't doubt it. I'd like to know what exactly they have against us. Except for Duke, we barely know them and vice versa. So I want them brought under control and alive. I don't want Dragaunus to permanently get rid of either of them. I want to know more about these two ducks along with their friend," Wildwing explained to them.

"They've eluded so many times so far, maybe this is what they were leading to," Tanya suggested.

Grin glanced over at Mallory, who remained silent the entire time.

00000

At the bank, Rene looked at Patrick and smiled with a small laugh.

"Oops, I'm sorry, did I do that? Oh gosh, now what are we supposed to do now? I hope we have enough time to get out," Rene said in a sarcastic manner.

"I really, really doubt it Rene, considering you're probably going to jail now for breaking and entering," came a voice.

The two turned to see Duke by the door, sabre in hand. The other ducks stood behind him, ready

"Well if it isn't Duke, the most well known, and might I mention the best solo, jewel thief of them all. How's the life of a straight duck been? I'm just _dying_ to know. You know, things have greatly changed in the Brotherhood since you were there andfor the better actually since you left," Patrick sarcastically said to him.

"Ah, shaddup," Duke replied as the other ducks walked up behind him.

Rene took apart the sabres as she eyed Nosedive and he glared at her. It pretty much turned into a staring contest as she tossed Patrick's sabre to him. Both Rene and Patrick's sabres materialized and they darted in opposite directions. Drones appeared on the scene. Wildwing and Grin started to fight the drones while Duke went after Patrick and Nosedive took off after Rene.

Mallory stared at the situation before running back to the Migrator, the tears forming in her eyes.

_'Why does it have to be this way? I can't bring myself to watch this,'_ she asked herself.

00000

Rene finally stopped and faced Nosedive, who had finally caught up with her.

"Listen to me girly-girl, you're not getting away with this. Not now, not ever," Nosedive angrily told her. "At least I never grew up in the way you did. My parents raised me well."

"Yeah right! I grew up not knowing who my parents were. They're both dead," Rene yelled back at him, rushing towards him. "At least you knew yours!"

"Whoa, now that's slightly off topic," said Nosedive, as he hurried to get out of the way.

He found he couldn't get a shot as the thief kept up her offensive manuevers. He soon found himself on his back and Rene crouching right above him. She held down his arms with her knees and he found he couldn't move.

"I hope you don't ever say something like that to me again. Patrick has taught me well since I was four. Don't forget that 'offer' still stands. I can still make sure that you can't have any children," Rene told him.

Nosedive glanced around and saw Grin nearby, punching the last of the round of drones.

"Grinster, I could use some help here!" Nosedive cried out to him.

"Why do you want to do that now for? I could have some fun with you. You are kind of cute, you know. I thought so ever since I saw you," Rene told him, placing a finger underneath his chin.

She trailed her left arm down to his arm. Nosedive gasped once he felt the sensation. Rene gave him a seductive smile before standing up. Before she could run away from the scene, someone grabbed her from behind.

"Let go of me!" she cried.

"I shall not for there is someone I would like you to meet. Someone that you might know," Grin replied.

"Wha...?" she started. _'You mean someone other than anyone inthe Brotherhood? There's only two people I know that aren't in the Brotherhood other than Sanyo and I'm sure they aren't here!'_

00000

Patrick and Duke's sabres clashed together. Patrick gave a small smile

"I can't see why we're doing this Duke," grunted Patrick.

"I don't either, but you're helping the enemy, so I have to try and stop you, otherwise they'll win and it's _sayonara_ as we know it," Duke agreed.

They pushed each other away and Patrick lifted his sabre up, staring at it.

"Want to know who remind me of you whenever I see you?" he asked Duke.

"Tell me Patrick, I'm dying to know," Duke replied, a bit sarcastic.

"Rene. I noticed several years ago that she's got a bit of your style and finesse," Patrick told him. "And her feathers are also gray. They're a light gray but still gray. I've never been able to really figure it out."

"Huh?" Duke wondered, becoming very confused.

"I'm serious. I also just realized that she's got your attitude and she looks a bit like you," explained Patrick, lowering his blue sabre.

He stared at it for a minute before Dragaunus appeared behind him. Patrick was very startled as he turned around.

"Why are you socializing with the enemy Patrick? Why aren't you doing something to defeat them?" demanded Draguanus, smoke rising from his nostrils.

"Dragaunus, it's not what it looks like," he stuttered.

Nosedive, Wildwing, Tanya and Grin walked up behind Duke with Rene. Grin was carrying the much smaller female duck with his mighty arms. She began to struggle but to no avail. She had noticed that Grin was not like the other ducks she had come across before. He seemed almost - gentle - to her.

_'Why is he so different than the others? Usually, they all treat me the same way as Patrick, despite my age,'_ Rene thought to herself.

"Stop right now Dragaunus. You're not doing anything with these two. Once, and if, we get back to Puckworld, they will be tried," Wildwing told them.

"You make me laugh Wildwing. You can't get back to Puckworld. At least when I take care of the brat, you won't be able to," laughed the Saurian.

He steadily walked towards Rene, who continued to struggle in Grin's arms.

"Did I mention thanks for the warning?" she snarled at him.

"You're not welcome. Now let me at her!" said Dragaunus.

"Dragaunus, why's the girl so important?" Wildwing wondered.

"It's none of your business," Dragaunus snarled back.

As this was all this was happening, Duke looked at Rene. He noticed something about her that he hadn't seen before.

"Huh? Why didn't I take notice of that with all the times I saw her back on Puckworld?" he quietly said to himself.

He growled as he lifted his sabre and brought it down on Dragaunus' arm. Wildwing was just as surprised as anyone else there.

"Duke, what's the problem?" asked Grin.

The ex-thief paid no attention to him or anybody else there as he advanced on the Saurian.

"I thought I was alone after that fateful night seventeen years ago. I realize now that I never was. Now leave her alone!" threatened Duke, walking towards him.

TBC...


	8. Answers come to those who ask

Duke was visibly angry. Wildwing and Nosedive tried to hold him back. This outburst caused Patrick to carefully study Duke's face. He gasped and stepped back in total shock and disbelief.

"I don't believe it! I simply don't believe it! It - it's _you! _I can't believe I didn't recognize you," he whispered. "I am so sorry about everything I've done."

"We have to abandon them Lord Dragaunus. Rene is captured, Patrick's having second doubts and Sanyo was never of any use to us," Wraith quietly told him.

Dragaunus growled before teleporting back to the Raptor along with the other three. Grin lowered Rene to the ground. Nosedive and Duke stood on either side of her. She nervously looked at them both before finally staring at Duke.

"Why? Why did you save me Duke?" she asked. "You could have easily let him kill me after all I've done to you. I know you've never been around me that much other than the few times we've worked together. You barely know me."

"Please, come with us to the Pond and I'll explain everything," Duke replied, giving a small smile.

"Duke, what, are you crazy?" Nosedive asked him. "Taking them back with us? That's dangerous since they've helped Dragaunus! For all we know, this could be a trap! They could want us to trust them in order to get into the base."

Sanyo walked up to Patrick's side and looked at his distraught friend with a slightly worried look. Wildwing motioned for Grin, Tanya and Nosedive to gather around him. It was then that he noticed that Mallory was not present and wondered where she was but he decided to start without her.

"What do you guys think? Should we take them back to the Pond? Or should we not on the chance that it's a trap?" Wildwing asked them.

Nosedive shook his head, an angry look on his face. After what they did to him, he wasn't too pleased with what was happening.

"I really don't know Wildwing. I mean, Nosedive is right. They could be fooling us into taking them back with us. On the other hand, Duke could be right in trusting them," Tanya replied.

The four glanced over at Grin, who had remained quiet the whole time.

"Grin, what do you think?" asked Wildwing.

"Answers come to those who ask," Grin simply replied. "Some people have said that what happens in the past, remains in the past. But if one should want to fully understand the truth behind a tragic incident, one should not put aside the only method of finding out what happened."

Wildwing sighed as he motioned for all of them to head towards the Migrator. Nosedive glanced over at Duke with an curious look.

"I must be crazy, Nosedive, I must be," Duke replied, as he climbed into the Migrator. "I've always had an instinct about others. For some strange reason, I never listened to it when it concerned Rene and Patrick until now."

00000

Once there, Mallory walked up to Rene. The teen didn't notice her at first but when she did, she wondered why she had been crying.

"Rene, is that you?" the redhead finally asked her.

"Who are you? Do I - know you from somewhere?" Rene asked her.

Mallory nodded but didn't say anything. She gave a small smile as she handed her a picture. Rene stared at it, remembering when it was taken.

"Mallory?" she replied. "I never thought I'd see you again."

They hugged each other, tears falling from their eyes.

"I've missed you so much Rene. It's been so long I barely recognized you," Mallory whispered into the young duck's ear.

"I didn't even recognize you, I was so young at the time," cried Rene.

Tanya walked up to them as the others gathered around, eagerly waiting for any explanation.

"Rene, what exactly do you know about your parents? Their names, any pictures, friends of the family, occupations, anything will do," asked Tanya.

"I know absolutely nothing about them except for the fact that they were killed soon after I hatched by Thief au Combat," she replied, with a small smile on her face.

The six ducks gasped for they all heard the name before. It was such a known name, who hadn't heard about him?

"Theif au Combat? But he didn't exist! He's a story told to ducks to frighten them from going near Digit San," Wildwing protested. "You must have your names mixed up or something like that."

"He existed all right Wildwing. It's just that no one could find him. Word through the Brotherhood was that he joined some sort of group and made himself scarce many years ago. That's why there haven't been any murders in the past several years relating to him. Believe me, I should know," Duke told him.

"Plus what exactly is your connection with Duke and Mallory? 'Wing and I both know you three from the tour at the jewel exchange. That was always such a fascinating story," Nosedive told her.

"So do I," Tanya put in.

Grin gave a slight nod, indicating that he also knew of the story.

"Well, Mallory took care of me until I was four and Duke was a fellow comrade in the Brotherhood ever since I can remember," replied Rene, confused.

Duke walked up to her, a smile on his face. He glanced at Tanya, who held a piece of paper in her hand. She motioned for him to follow and he did.

"What're the results Tanya? I need to know for sure," he quietly asked her.

She hesitated for a moment, a bit unsure how to tell him.

"I got the results of the test back from the lab earlier. They came back positive," Tanya replied, sighing.

"Test? What test?" demanded Wildwing.

"I asked Tanya to help me with finding someplace that does paternity tests. It looks like I'm - I'm Rene's biological father," he explained, looking at the ground.

"Father? How can that be? My father is dead," Rene asked.

"Please, let me explain. That night, your mother and I were with two friends of ours. Once Combat found us, he thought your mother was carrying jewels when she was actually carrying you. She started to run and I followed, but Combat knocked me down before I could reach her. I thought he killed you both yet it seems I have to thank Mallory for all that she's done to help you. No one really knew this but the other two ducks survived and we all know one of them," Duke explained.

Rene glanced over at Mallory, who nodded. The young duck realized that they were telling the truth for she never saw Duke anywhere near Digit San and he never went anywhere near the place. She carefully walked over to Duke, looking over him for a moment before giving him a hug.

"So that's why I recognized you only just now! I should have seen it years ago! All along! I'm such an idiot. Duke, I am so sorry for all the trouble I've caused you," Patrick told him.

"What? You've never caused me any trouble before. You've always been the type to keep to yourself. I barely came in contact with you back on Puckworld. Only on the odd occasion when the Brotherhood was threatened or a major heist was planned," Duke replied, still keeping an arm around Rene.

"Yes, I have given you a lot of misery, grief and torment before Duke though it had nothing to do with the Brotherhood. We met each other one night many years ago. One night that, in all probability, should never have happened. I'm - I'm Thief au Combat," he told him.

"What the…?" Duke started.

"You're the legendary murderer that we've heard stories about?" Wildwing asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I am. No one could find me, not even the Brotherhood. None of them knew who I truly was, only Rene. Besides, who would expect one of the best thieves on Puckworld to have a double life as a murderer?" Patrick told them.

"Do we really have to worry about anything now?" Duke cautiously asked.

"You don't worry about a thing. Ever since she was four, I've had to take care of her. I've been clean in that department ever since. When I was forced to take care of Rene, I had a choice to make. Thievary or killing, not both. I chose to go with the Brotherhood," he explained.

"I forgive you. Rene is alive. That's all I'm worried about now," Duke said.

Wildwing walked up to Sanyo, Patrick and Rene.

"We would like you to join our team. Help us defeat Dragaunus once and for all," Wildwing told them. "Seeing as how the Saurians abandoned you and it seems that you've truly changed your outlook towards them and us."

"And hopefully, we soon can get home," Sanyo muttered, crossing his arms.

"And how exactly? We're not even sure how the three of you even got here since Dragaunus' gateway generator is broken," Tanya told them.

Sanyo and Patrck both glanced over at Rene, who put on a sad look. She sighed as she stepped away from them.

"How is it possible that Rene has something to do with it? No one on Puckworld that I know of has a generator. Except for maybe the military and they don't give them up that easily," wondered Tanya as he walked up to her.

"I'd rather not talk about it right now," Rene quietly replied. "The pain is too much to remember."

She turned around and Duke walked up to her.

"Come on. Let me show you to your room. Maybe you can talk to me about it, at least," Duke quietly told her.

00000

The next night, the stadium was packed for the game.

"We're waiting for the ducks to arrive," the announcer said.

The six ducks stepped out onto the ice.

"What's this? Three new ducks have stepped out onto the ice. It looks like we have a few more to learn something about," the announcer cried.

Patrick was number twenty-nine; Sanyo was number thirty-two; and Rene was number thirty-one. They skated into their positions, with Wildwing, Grin and Tanya. The referee dropped the puck and the game officially started. Mallory, Duke and Nosedive watched from the bench.

"Duke, who would've thought that all our lives would be brought together by this one single, solitary event?" Mallory asked him quietly.

"I know for sure that I wouldn't have. Sometimes fate, and pure coincidence, are amazing things Mal," Duke replied.

The End

Author's Note - Thank to all that read (and those who reviewed). Hope you all enjoyed it.


End file.
